The Marquee Volume 37 Issue 5

Get to know the school board candidates

14 Who really should have won the Oscars?

18 Student rock band gains traction

Girls soccer takes home state title

editor in chief

Jennifer Banh

managing editor

Raksha Jayakumar online editor

Lex Paull

photo editor

Ana Myers-Olvera

assistant photo editor

Dylan Sorensen section editor

Kaelen Reed

business manager

Aishani Raju reporters

Muna Nnamani

Hyunsung Na

Garrison Acree

Emily Couch

Roslyn Dobbins

Owen Oppenheimer

Harrison Hamre designers

Alex Thornfelt

Sarina Mahmud

photographer

Colby Murray adviser

LaJuana Hale principal

William Skelton

The Marquee newsmagazine is a studentgenerated publication of Marcus High School. It is produced, edited and maintained through the efforts of the school’s advanced journalism class. The Marquee is designed to serve the school and community as a forum for open discussion and student expression. The Marquee encourages letters to the editor as part of its mission to educate, inform and provide an open forum for debate. All submissions must be signed. The staff reserves the right to edit all material. Editorials reflect the opinion of the staff, not necessarily that of the administration. Signed columns or reviews represent only the opinion of the author. Advertising rates are $70 per 1/8 of a page, with discounts available. Patron ads are available for $100. Online advertisements are also available. For more information call 469-713-5196. The Marquee is a standing member of ILPC, TAJE, ATPI, CSPA NSPA, JEA and Quill and Scroll.

16

Finding a balance

Senior handles type one diabetes

Going for goal’d

Girls soccer wins state championship after 18 years

Busting BookTok

Honest reviews of TikTok famous books

Scan the QR code for more stories and photos on our website!

Junior Halaa-Elia Tartir sprints down the track at the first annual Circle of Friends race on April 6. Photo Ana Myers-Olvera

School Board Candi dates

PLACE 6

Bumgarner is currently working on her psychology certification and has a daughter at Flower Mound HS. She has been involved in her community by teaching dating violence classes, alcohol and drug awareness class, and a Shattered Dreams program.

She said she is running for office to help parents and teachers have a voice in schools.

“I have seen and overheard many of our teachers complain of feeling that they are not given proper time to teach core education while constantly battling an ever changing grading system with state testing,” she wrote. “This has become one of the big issues that is contributing to many educators leaving the profession. While all student’s personalities are forming and evolving through their educational career some issues should be addressed at home and allow our

Mindy Bumgarner: Michelle Alkhatib:

She is a former elementary school principal and 13-year LISD PTA member, who served on numerous committees. She has four children enrolled in LISD schools and has been involved in her community through working as a LEF Board member, tutoring for students and volunteering at local schools and the Flower Mound Public Library.

She said she is running to be an advocate for all children and staff.

“Lewisville ISD is a district that cares about all students, staff, and families. It is a district that empowers learning and growth,” she wrote.

Her top three priorities will be to listen to the community, ensure that all students have access to the best education and are safe within their schools and advocate for all students, teachers, and staff in the district.

Alkhatib says that the biggest issue

teachers to teach.”

Her top three priorities are allowing parents to have a voice, transparency in educational programs, and helping teachers get more classroom materials. She believes the biggest problem facing LISD is teacher turnover and the reason many are leaving is because of teaching social education.

“A portion of every teacher’s class time is being dedicated to teaching a social education while also increasing the requirements of the core education,” she wrote. “This is an impossible battle for teachers to have positive outcomes, and the current educational scoring in the district shows the drop in literacy and numeracy. As a school board our job is to make sure our students are prepared for the future no matter what that may be, immediately entering the work force, trade schools, or college. However, if

we do not focus on ELAR, Mathematics, History, and Science we are doing each child an injustice as they graduate.”

Bumgarner also believes in strong parental involvement in education and advocated for curriculum based on age and maturity. When it comes to making sure traditionally marginalized students are safe and welcomed in LISD she emphasizes equality.

“I think it is important to note ‘All Students’ without placing one group over another,” Bumgarner wrote.

She is also the wife of state representative and former Flower Mound Town Council member Ben Bumgarner(R).

She is endorsed by Congressman Pat Fallon(R) and Constable Danny Fletcher(R).

facing LISD is continuing to provide funding for our current programs.

“We need to continue advocating for the needed resources in our district. We currently are giving $54 million dollars of our local property tax dollars back to the state in recapture,” she wrote. “We are having to find creative ways to fund teacher retention, classroom resources, and safety and security measures.”

Teacher retention is another issue Alkhatib wants to address if she were to be elected as a school board member.

“Lewisville ISD is the best school district in Texas and voted as the top employer in Denton County. We need to make sure that our teachers, administrators, and staff are being praised as such,” she wrote. “Our teachers have been on the frontlines of education and incurred multiple stressors professionally and personally.

We need to continue to listen to our employees and find ways that will keep them wanting to stay in LISD.”

Alkhatib says that parents are currently a valuable part of the content and curriculum process.

“LISD has processes in place. For example, parents can review any new textbooks before they are adopted and voice their opinion on the options. This allows parents to be aware and involved with what their children are learning,” she wrote. “We also must rely on the professional expertise of our teachers. Parents currently have the right to opt out of curriculum and resources that families do not want them learning at school.”

She is endorsed by Dr. Kevin Rogers, former LISD superintendent and currently place 6 board member Krisit Hasset.

PLACE 7 Candidates

Ashley Jones:

She is a stay at home mom and also a licensed vocational nurse. She believes her medical expertise would be useful to the board. She has volunteered with the LISD Angel Tree Christmas Wrapping event, Keep Flower Mound Beautiful, and the PTA.

She is concerned about many of the ways the district is currently operating “because our children’s innocence is at risk due to the over sexualization of today’s literature in school libraries and the indoctrination of America’s youth,” Jones wrote in a letter to Denton County Republican Party Precinct Chairs.

She wants to see the Republican party take a greater role in governing education, like it has in SouthlakeCarroll ISD and Grapevine-Colleyville ISD.

“We are seeing a lot of positive direction in those school districts,” Jones said.

Jones wants to see more parental involvement in both curriculum and in

Jacob Anderson:

He is a real estate agent with Keller Williams. He attended Abilene Christian University and UNT for his bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies. He obtained his masters in Education Leadership from Concordia University. He taught special education at Central Elementary for four years and third grade dual language for three years. He was Vice Principal at Lakeland Elementary from 2020-2022.

Anderson has volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Keep Denton Beautiful, Communities in Schools, Meals on Wheels and taught Sunday school class. He also serves as a Dallas County CPS (Child Protective Services) Investigator.

“As a CPS investigator, interviewing caregivers in their homes, I quickly realized there were very few dads in the homes I visited. Most often kids were being raised by a single mother or their

the classroom. She wants parents to be able to visit schools and teachers at any time without notice instead of the current system of setting up appointments beforehand.

“We need to develop a policy that allows communication,” Jones said. “That way if a parent is concerned about something on that day, they can come and sit down with the teacher and have a conversation that day.”

Jones has faced criticism after removing her children from LISD schools because of what she called a lack of communication and respect from the district.

“The second I announced that I was running, the very first question I got was, ‘Where do your kids go to school?’” Jones said. “That was instantly a red flag for me. I told my husband that had my kids been in school, I would have instantly pulled them out that day for their protection.”

Jones also explained in her letter that she has had a bad personal experience

with the district’s book review policy.

“Virtual learning also presented our first instance of reading material designed to groom children into believing immoral characters in a story are heroes,” Jones wrote.

Jones wants to see parents’ views of morality brought into the book review process.

“There’s not any kind of morality clause in the process,” Jones said. “I would want to see a layer of common decency and morality and a shared decision with the parents.”

One of her biggest changes would be to eliminate Social Emotional Learning. At Marcus, SEL includes suicide prevention and mental health lessons in Marauder Time.

*Some of this content came from an interview.

She is endorsed by Moms for Liberty, Denton County Conservative Coalition, True Texas Project.

grandparents. Knowing many of these children were growing up fatherless, I felt compelled to become a teacher and be that stable male role model for my community,” he wrote.

After working in education, he wrote he soon found his initial purpose “diminished and eventually disappeared with so many ‘extra’ state mandated responsibilities.”

“My heart is still with my LISD family and running for a school board position allows me to continue to utilize my knowledge, skills and experience to serve…. We don’t deserve to have a politician in the board seat, we deserve to have a highly qualified and knowledgeable servant leader in the seat,” he wrote.

His top three priorities are teacher recruitment and retention, budget and student achievement. The greatest issue facing LISD, he wrote, is the teacher

shortage.

“I believe Dr. Rapp has a good grasp of this issue and I appreciate her efforts to focus on the culture of the district and the amount of ‘extra items’ proposed to be on a teacher’s already full plates… These teachers share a giant heart for their students, but no amount of money is worth more than spending a quality moment with their family at home,” Anderson wrote.

Anderson and his wife have been foster parents for the last five years and do not currently have kids in LISD.

“My wife and I adopted our beautiful boy (Nov. of 2021) and our precious baby girl (Oct. of 2022) from the foster system…We are excited to send our young pups to the elementary school in our backyard, Memorial, as soon as they are of age,” he wrote.

He is endorsed by Dr. Kevin Rogers, former LISD superintendent.

Dr. Staci Barker:

She is a Research and Strategic Priorities Analyst at the Region 10 Education Service Center with a PhD in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington, MA in English Education from NYU and a BA in English from Texas Tech. She is a former English teacher and currently serves on the vestry of her church.

“My mom always told me that education is the one thing no one can take away from you. With a daughter in LISD, I know what a great district it is. As an educator, I know that we can always make things better. That’s my goal, to celebrate what is working well in the district and problem-solve around challenges the district faces,” Barker wrote.

She is running to increase school

safety, provide opportunities to students regardless of their background and provide teacher support.

“I want to ensure all students have access to a variety of high-quality core classes, extension and advancement options, career-focused experiences, and extracurricular activities,” she wrote.

She believes the biggest issue facing LISD is recruiting and retaining highquality teachers.

“Teaching has been one of the hardest and most rewarding roles I’ve held within my career, and I want to listen to teachers in the classroom today to find out how we can continue to reap those rewards, but make the job a little less hard,” she wrote.

Barker believes that parents should be partners with educators, and they have the right to know the student curriculum.

“I have had the pleasure of collaborating with parents when I was in the classroom and collaborating with teachers as a parent myself….As far as curriculum, the State Board of Education determines the standards (TEKS) that teachers must teach in the state of Texas, and I support the teaching of that stateadopted content,” she wrote.

Barker said she is thankful for the safety measures in place at LISD, including protocols for front door entry, locked door protocols, School Resource Officers, and anti-bullying measures.

“I believe that one root cause of safety concerns is mental health, and we could investigate our resources in that area to see if we could improve those supports, examining the possibility of additional counselors or mentors for students across the district,” she wrote.

The school board

ExPLAINED!

Early voting is between April 24-May 2. May 6 is election day. The issue isn’t that students aren’t intentionally avoiding the polls. Instead, the biggest issue between students and voting for candidates is a lack of information about what a school board does. The school board controls different aspects of every student’s day, but many couldn’t name a single power the board has.

Monitor Success

Ensuring students are succeeding is their top priority. They set goals and create strategies to keep the district moving in a positive direction. For example, one of LISD’s goals is to achieve “Meaningful and relevant work [that] engages students in profound learning.” They pursue this by making decisions that eliminates busy work and focus on student engagement.

Communicate with the Community

School boards are outlets for the community. They must continually advocate for public education and keep community members informed and build trust. They must make sure residents are aware of district plans, new actions and student accomplishments.

Hire Superintendent

A superintendent is the person who handles all the day-today operations of the district, like the CEO. Superintendents handle the big picture and work with the board, legislators and community to ensure the district is operating at its best. The board interviews and hires a candidate. Then throughout the superintendent’s tenure, the board will evaluate their performance and can replace them.

Adopt a Budget and Tax Rate

In Texas, schools districts are funded by property taxes. The board oversees the budget, set teacher salaries and benefits, and decide what schools are upgraded.

Alex Thornfelt

Senior manageS type one diabeteS

Muna Nnamani and Aishani Raju

At twelve years old, senior Sadie Thomas danced onstage.

Under the glow of the spotlights, she was completely immersed in her routine. It didn’t matter that she’d been in a battle with her body since 2015. It didn’t matter that she needed expensive medication to survive, or that she often felt out of control of how her body functioned — her hard work had brought her here.

But in the waiting room adjacent to the stage, her babysitter checked Sadie’s blood sugar. A reading of over 250 could make her lose consciousness.

Sadie was at 400.

When she stepped away for a break, they realized that her insulin pump was malfunctioning, and a flurry of panic ensued. Her mom, frantically texting the babysitter. Worries about going into diabetic ketoacidosis: headaches and nausea before losing consciousness. Her sugar level, climbing, climbing, eventually hitting a whopping 700.

She remembered stories of other diabetics whose bodies had rebelled. The risk of passing out and dying on the spot.

But stomaching her fear, she went back onstage to finish.

After the recital, they got Sadie’s pump to start working, and the diabetes was once again under her control. Physically and emotionally exhausted, they drove home.

As a type one diabetic, Sadie’s life is defined by a number.

Unlike type two diabetes, type

one diabetes isn’t caused by eating habits. It’s a chronic illness where the pancreas doesn’t make enough insulin for the body. The lack of insulin causes abnormally high sugar levels — to stay healthy, diabetics need to be constantly checking their sugar level.

The glucose monitor stuck to Sadie’s arm is a constant way to check her blood sugar without pricking her finger. It sends the number to her phone, so she’s always checking it.

Ideally, the number should range between 100 and 110. Too high is 150, too low is 70, and 250 can make her brain stop working.

Either side of this range is not ideal.

was also battling a medical condition. While her brother got treatment at the hospital, she and her younger sister moved in with her grandparents.

Living with her grandmother, who’s a nurse, could be frustrating. While her grandmother pushed her to follow the hospital’s instructions exactly, Sadie tried to figure out what worked for her body.

“Because it’s a lifelong illness, you kind of get to know your body,” Sadie said. “And every diabetic is different. So with the amount of decisions that you make every day, it could be different from the exact protocol that the hospital will tell you to follow.”

Sadie’s sister, freshman Gwen Thomas, had a harder time accepting Sadie’s illness.

She barely knew what was going on. As a kid who suddenly had so much attention taken off her and put on Sadie, she felt invisible.

“I remember being really nervous for her,” Gwen said.

When the girls went to school, they faced criticism for Sadie’s diabetes — even though it was nobody’s fault.

Low blood sugar and too much insulin can cause seizures. If nobody is around to help, the seizing can lead to permanent brain damage. But too high of a sugar level could cause diabetic ketoacidosis.

“I’ve never had either of those things happen to me because I keep a very tight control on my blood sugar,” Sadie said. “But it happens.”

Sadie was diagnosed with type one diabetes at age 10.

Her diagnosis came when her brother

“People figured out that she had diabetes,” Gwen said. “They were judging my family, and like my parents for not taking care of her when she was younger.”

But Sadie educated herself on her illness. Before she left the hospital, she learned how to give herself insulin shots.

Sadie learned to stick to a diet that would regulate her sugar level. She grew up with her eye on that number.

“With me, I just grew up like a flash,” Sadie said, “It was like, if anything happened where I just needed to be on my own, I would have been able to.”

Sometimes it feels like there's not a different way out than to manipulate your diabetes. Sadie thomaS, 12

Her insulin pump is the size of an iPod. She inputs the amount of insulin she needs, it reads her blood sugar and it transmits insulin through a white tube. She charges it every two days.

Even though she eats and takes her insulin responsibly, hormones or sickness can still cause abnormal sugar levels.

When her sugar soars beyond control, Sadie can’t focus anymore. She stays home from school for days at a time, falling behind on work and foregoing social obligations.

“Being at school, I’m meant to sit there and focus on what’s happening,” Sadie said. “And there’s no way for me to focus on school when my blood sugar’s not right. My brain just doesn’t work the same.”

Sadie was sitting in her car with her boyfriend, about to drive him home, when she got what she initially thought was a panic attack. Her head suddenly felt light. She was dizzy, nervous.

“I started freaking out and I wasn’t sure why,” Sadie said.

When her boyfriend checked her blood sugar, it was at 40. They switched seats, and he drove to a gas station to buy her juice. While she sat waiting in the passenger seat, her blood sugar dropped to 30. Her parents were 20 minutes away.

“It was really scary in the moment,” Sadie said.

He came back. She drank the juice, and he drove her home. She felt like an inconvenience, but driving with low sugar would risk her own life and others’.

from diabetes.

“You immediately think, ‘Oh, she can’t have sugar. She ate too much sugar. So now she’s overweight,’” Sadie said.

From ages 10-16, guilt surrounded eating or feeling hungry.

You’re eating too much. You’re going to get overweight, and everyone’s going to make fun of you.

But when she let bad thoughts win, she still felt guilty — what if her blood sugar dropped too low? She was being irresponsible.

“I had no idea how to turn those thoughts off in my head,” Sadie said.

She went entire days without eating, so her blood sugar would fluctuate.

“A lot of days, I would wake up, and I would feel like, if I don’t eat anything, then I won’t need insulin, and all my blood sugar will stay stable,” Sadie said.

Diabetics who want to lose weight may feel out of control because they can’t do many diets. So some find other ways to lose fat.

When Sadie attended a camp for people with diabetes, she had a mentor who would let her blood sugar rise too high on purpose, because her body’s extremely high sugar levels made her burn fat.

“Sometimes it feels like there’s not a different way out than to manipulate your diabetes,” Sadie said.

She was getting smaller, but she was burning necessary muscle and harming her organs.

in her life encouraged her through her fluctuating body image. Gwen says that the hardships caused by Sadie’s diabetes brought the family together to support her.

“That’s really important to my family, because we’re all so close because of the hospital and all the illness,” Gwen said. “So she does lean back on us a lot. And we’re always here for her.”

Her mom helps her keep things in perspective, reminding her that her insecurity will wear off as she gets older.

“If you’re struggling with being overweight, there are ways to fix that without damaging your body,” Sadie said. • • •

Diabetes is incurable. But while she keeps up to date with the latest diabetes

“That’s a big deal when I have days where I’m not able to drive,” Sadie said. “Because at that point, it’s not a negotiation. It’s not a question. I can’t drive.”

Since her boyfriend didn’t have a car yet, her dad had to drive him home. Again, her diabetes had ruined what was supposed to be a fun night.

Body dysmorphia as a teenager is difficult. Feeling too big or too small, and finding a diet that works is difficult. But Sadie says that a food-based disease only makes body dysmorphia harder to navigate.

She says that a lot of it stemmed

“Trying to just fig ure out how to lose weight the fastest without regard to your muscle and the organs in your body is very dan gerous,” Sadie said. The people feature April 26, 2023

Photo submitted by Sadie Thomas

research, Sadie is coming to terms with potentially having to monitor her number for the rest of her life.

“Eventually, I hope that they come up with a cure while I’m still living,” Sadie said. “But we don’t know that for sure, so we’ll see.”

In the meantime, she’s found a college roommate who also has diabetes. She looks forward to having this support through nursing school.

“We’re already kind of friends, so we know each other and can watch over each other,” Sadie said. “That’ll kind of jumpstart being able to live without my parents.”

Even though she’s accepted her illness, she understands the pain of having not done so. But she encourages those in the same position to keep taking care of themselves.

“Sure, rebel for a minute,” Sadie said. “Take fifteen minutes and sit on the couch and eat Sour Patch Kids and don’t pay attention to it. But then get back on it. Give your insulin. Do it because you’re going to feel better in the end.”

More than anything, she understands the importance of having people help you through it.

“Find somebody who will empathize with you, because sitting in it alone will make you feel a lot worse,” Sadie said.

Her friends and family are the reason she knows she’ll be okay.

“I’m not worried at all,” Sadie said. “Because I have a good support system around me, and people who would help me if I were to need anything.”

60 Seconds

What summer plans are you looking forward to?

I look forward to going on vacation in Colorado.

What’s your favorite song and why?

One of my favorite songs right now is “Karma” by Taylor Swift because I really like the beat and melody.

What’s your least favorite fashion trend?

Probably Crocs. I don’t like Crocs, that’s just a personal thing.

What band were you obsessed with as a kid? One Direction.

What’s your go-to karaoke song?

I would probably have to say “Roar” by Katy Perry.

Team Selena or team Hailey? Selena. All the way.

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Probably fruit. Any kind of fruit.

If you could live in any book, what would it be?

The “Selection” series, kind of just because it seems like a cool thing to be involved with.

What advice would you give your younger self?

It’s gonna be hard, but you can keep going.

What’s the best class you’ve ever taken and why?

One of the best classes I’ve ever taken is probably Principles of Education, just because it was a really fun class.

story

Harrison Hamre

18%other

in Flower Mound 78%Christianity

A recent burglary at the Islamic Association of LewisvilleFlower Mound occurred where earthquake relief funds for Turkey and Syria were stolen from the donation boxes.

“To think that someone would actually take money for [earthquake victims] is heartless,” Khazi-Syed said. “It’s a shameful act that someone would rob money that’s intended for some of the poorest of the poor and who are going through unimaginable difficulties.”

Tahir Qasem leads the youth groups and activities at the IALFM. He said along with feelings of confusion and frustration, the event also brought unity within the community.

“It was really heartwarming,” Qasem said. “And it wasn’t just our community, even our friends from the churches and synagogues showed their support. It helped us know that we have our place here in Flower Mound, and there’s neighbors and friends around us to support us whenever we need them.”

Continued on next page

Minority religions such as Judaism and Islam make up only 4 percent of the North Texas population, with Christianity making up 78 percent.

Muslim students Experience living in Flower Mound

story

Continued from page 9

The Muslim population in Flower Mound is small, but tight knit according to senior Salma Ali.

“I feel like everyone knows each other here in this little community,” Ali said.

Although the Flower Mound community may be small, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world, with over 1.9 billion followers.

Harrison Hamre

Muslim communities and organizations across North Texas are spreading and growing rapidly. Organizations such as the Qalam Institute in Carrollton, a large Islamic school and mosque, have over 50,000 followers on social media. They have a full time seminary with various programs, bringing in well known speakers to spread Islamic knowledge across DFW.

Misconceptions and Islamophobia

Despite this growth, Islamophobia is still very present in the United States.

While thousands of acts of violence have occurred against Muslim-Americans, there have only been 160 terrorist suspects and perpetrators identified since 9/11.

In a report by the Muslim Public Affairs Council, or MPAC, on post-9/11 terrorism data in the country, it is shown that through government prosecution and media coverage there is a public impression that “Muslim-American terrorism is more prevalent than it really is.”

In fact, the Muslim-American community has played a key role in national security and law enforcement. The community has helped to prevent nearly two out of every five al Qaeda terrorist plots threatening the United States according to the

Ramadan

Ali wishes there was greater consideration for Muslim students as they take part in Ramadan, an Islamic holy month that celebrates when the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast during daylight hours and strive to avoid any impure thoughts or immoral behavior, while praying five times throughout the day.

“We have to do two prayers during school, but we have to miss it,” Ali said.

Ramadan awareness is being encouraged in schools with the Department of Education in 2020 giving specific guidelines centered around allowing Muslim students protections during this period.

It is mentioned in the guidelines that the students have constitutional protections permitting them to pray during noninstructional time, while not disturbing other students.

Students like Sheikh wish there was an accommodation for their weekly Jum’ah prayer which occurs every Friday. Ali

MPAC.

According to a study by Pew Research Center, religion and culture are the root cause of tension between Muslim societies in the Western world, illustrating the cultural divide that has led to Islamophobia’s greater presence in the United States.

Despite this national and global presence of Islamophobia, members of the Islamic Association of Lewisville-Flower Mound such as senior Haziq Sheikh say they feel welcome, but that there are still misconceptions about their beliefs. Sheikh said he wishes more people understood how Islam is rooted in peace.

“In terms of what we see in the media and stuff, I feel like a lot of it ends up being the extremist versions of it,” Sheikh said. “They’re not really portraying Islam the way it really should be.”

believes it would be beneficial and help Muslim students if they were given an area to pray, especially during Ramadan.

“I wish we personally were more outgoing and would ask for these things ourselves,” Ali said.

Youth leader Tahir Qasem says he understands and would like to see further accommodations for students.

“It is a little more difficult to go through your daily motions,” Qasem said. “Granted, we don’t see Ramadan as a burden. It’s more so like a spiritual rejuvenation. But at the same time, we have to be really realistic and you know, it’s tough going 12 plus hours without food every day.”

While Qasem feels that the Muslim community is accepted, he said that he hopes for more understanding from the public.

“The longer that we’re here in Flower Mound, the more that people will get to know about us,” Qasem said. “I hope in the future that being a Muslim in Flower Mound or Lewisville isn’t seen as some random foreign thing but you know, just your everyday neighbor.”

Jewish student struggles with lack of religious inclusivity

story Kaelen Reed

A festive buzz surrounds senior Tiana Mazisyuk, who uses they/them pronouns. Students are anticipating plans for the upcoming winter break. Whispers of putting up Christmas lights, hanging mistletoe and opening colorfully wrapped presents on Christmas morning seem to get louder and louder to Mazisyuk, who looks forward to something different during the days away from school.

There won’t be a Christmas tree or a plate of cookies and milk left for Santa. Instead, the memories of the first night of Hanukkah eating latkes and jelly doughnuts and playing games of dreidel come to mind. The soft candlelight of the menorah would signal to Mazisyuk and their brother it was time for a hectic search to find presents their parents hid.

These traditions continue for the next eight days and nights. While Mazisyuk looks forward to this special time, they feel a sense of awkwardness at the difference between the amount of attention given to Hanukkah and Christmas, even with how close they’re celebrated.

“The majority of people are Christian or they all celebrate Christmas,” Mazisyuk said. “It’s so weird when everybody’s like, Oh, yeah, it’s Christmas break. Well, it’s winter break, actually.”

During past winter breaks at various schools, Hanukkah couldn’t be celebrated to its fullest for Mazisyuk and their family because of the cutoff. Coming back to school only to have

surrounding students talk about the fun of celebrating an entire holiday hurt.

Other students had the benefit of opening presents and going gift shopping with friends while Mazisyuk was left out of these conversations entirely. The recent break, however, was a much needed change.

“This year was nice because we actually got the break for the entirety of Hanukkah,” Mazisyuk said.

Even small details, such as Jewish holidays not being events put in the school calendar reflects the stark loneliness Mazisyuk feels.

“It’s just because of the area that we live in. You’re not really going to find many Jewish people,” Mazisyuk said.

With only 1% of the Dallas Metro area identifying as Jewish, as stated by Pew Research, it isn’t surprising to Mazisyuk why everyone around them seems so similar in what they celebrate. Mazisyuk wants it be acknowledged that Jewish students exist within the school and deserve more awareness about their traditions.

Yom Kippur, considered the most

important holiday in the Jewish faith, is a day of atoning for sins over the past year by refraining from earthly pleasures such as eating, drinking, bathing, or using electronics. This was one of the holidays that Mazisyuk’s previous school in LA purposely scheduled weather days on so students could have more ease with the event.

Since moving to Texas, Yom Kippur fell on a school day meaning that everything restricted for the day was amplified. Attending school without being able to fully participate creates a tiring and stressful environment that Mazisyuk believes a simple day off could solve the conflicts that may arise.

“I don’t like missing school, so I came in on Yom Kippur and I didn’t eat at all that day,” Mazisyuk said. “And it’s hard because I usually just sleep through the whole day.”

Mazisyuk said sleeping helped ease the process of fasting because it took away from the hunger, as well as allowing them to rest for Rosh HaShana, or Jewish New Year. That day is spent thinking back over the past year or spending the day in temple.

There are certain holidays Mazisyuk doesn’t expect the school to give time off for, but single days off would create an awareness of smaller faiths at the school.

Despite feeling out of place with friends and peers, Mazisyuk continues to hope for more acceptance and awareness of other religions in school and the community. They hope people of different faiths and identities can be a part of a caring and genuine community that wants to change for the better.

scoring state

Girls soccer takes championship title

Aishani Raju

The time had come for a rematch at the regional finals. The team had battled through multiple tightly contested playoff matches. Now the last obstacle between them and the state tournament was Southlake Carroll, who hadn’t lost a game in their last 40 matches. The same team who beat the girls 2-0 at the regional finals last year. Luckily, Southlake Carroll was without their two leading scorers, as they were in France playing for the U.S. Under-16 National Team.

But the rest of the team still couldn’t be taken lightly. Top to bottom, they were talented, ranked the number one team in Texas all year. Many didn’t expect the Marauders to make the playoffs in their tough region.

But the team won tight game after tight game. Sitting in the locker room, before their Southlake Carroll match, after facing consecutive highly ranked opponents, the team was ready to take on their biggest opponent yet.

Believe. It was the one word the Lady Marauders carried with them all year. Inspired from the show Ted Lasso, the

blue sign with the yellow letters was brought to every playoff game. The sign was a challenge for the team to believe in themselves.

This year, believing seemed harder than expected. To start, 11 seniors graduated. Senior Maddie Reynolds, team captain and last year’s leading scorer, tore her ACL before the season. And Erin Hebert became the Interim Head Coach the day before the team’s first scrimmage.

The team needed time to adjust with so many fresh faces filling the field. Their first three district games ended 1-11. But the team turned it around, winning 11 straight, securing first place in the district.

The players continued their winning streak. After defeating Byron Nelson 1-0, their rematch against Southlake was set.

The match quickly reached a deadlock. No goals were scored until the 41st minute. Freshman forward Madi Patterson broke away from her defender and took a shot at the net. The opposing goalkeeper scrambled to block the ball, but couldn’t position herself. The ball deflected off of her and ricocheted into the net. From there, the team defended shot after shot, giving them a 1-0 victory.

State semifinals 4/14

A light drizzle covered the field, as the girls shook their nerves out before the game against Westwood. The first 20 minutes proved tough. The Westwood Warriors kept intercepting their long passes.

Senior forward Bella Campos quickly realized they needed to change their strategy.

“We’re kind of feeding into our

long ball play, and we weren’t really possessing like we normally do, but then we kind of picked it up in the next 20 minutes,” Campos said.

Around the 30 minute mark, senior Caroline Castans and the rest of the team sprinted down the field. She passed the ball high. It flew toward Campos. She shot up and hit it with her head, scoring the first goal.

Halftime came, and Campos’ nerves disappeared. She was ready to continue scoring.

Although they were ahead, the Lady Marauders needed to move the ball faster to win. Campos hit a second goal. Then, Patterson scored the third and fourth. The timer buzzed and the score read 4-0. The girls rallied together jumping up and down ready to take on their final game at the State Championship.

Senior Bella Campos, who received UIL’s MVP award, speeds down the field to score the winning goal at the state finals. Photo Isabel Suarez Rivera

Freshman Madi Patterson jumps to get control of the ball during the state championship game.

Photo Isabel Suarez Rivera

State finals 4/15

The team stepped out onto the turf and was met with a supportive crowd. Friends and proud families wearing state shirts were lined up holding homemade signs.

Coach Erin Hebert says their goal was always to win a state championship but it didn’t feel real until they’d made the playoffs.

“We questioned what our season would look like…watching their growth and them believe in themselves since January has been incredible,” Hebert said. “After we got through the second round of district and entered the playoffs, they started to see that this goal of reaching state wasn’t some made up thing we made up for fun, but it was actually a tangible goal that we could achieve together.”

The team was so close to reaching a goal they thought was only imaginable. They could feel the state title within their grasp.

“We were like ‘We got this, just one more game,’” Campos said. “We knew that in that moment, this was our chance to be the state champs.”

Though when the Ridge Point Panthers lined up on the other side of the field, nerves soon crept up again.

“I think we were a little nervous because they were a very physical team … our team is mainly made up of sophomores and juniors, so they’re kind of on the smaller side,” Campos said.

The team developed a strategy. They wanted to avoid holding the ball for too long and make quick passes. They learned from the Westwood match and worked to move the ball as quickly as possible.

“To beat them, our game plan was like, ‘We need to evolve quickly, we

don’t want to give them a chance,’” Campos said.

This one game would determine whether history would be made once again after 18 years, since the time the team won a state championship in 2005.

A fleet of thoughts went through Campos’s mind. The game started off rocky. Too many opportunities were left for Ridge Point to score. A mistake they planned to avoid. Too much open space on the field. Panic started to kick in.

“We’re like, ‘Wow, this is the state final game and they’re coming out to play like it was a really good, evenly matched game in the first half,’” Campos said.

At halftime it was a scoreless game. The team shuffled into the locker room reciting their game plan. “Push forward” was their mantra.

The team stepped back on the field with a new mindset. Two minutes in and Campos took a pass from senior Carys

Torgesen and fought a 1 on 1 battle against the keeper. Campos scored their first goal.

“In that moment, all my stress went away. I was like … we just need to get another goal like that. We shouldn’t be panicking anymore,” Campos said. “Let’s just be calm and play the game.”

A few minutes later, Madi Patterson shot the ball and it bounced off the keeper. She found the ball again and attempted to shoot before both players collided. The ref gave Campos a penalty kick.

She slowed her breathing down. She tuned out all the fans cheering and the parents yelling in the background with their large signs. She blocked out the referee and the girls behind her.

Campos shot the ball. It hit the net and cheers erupted from the fans.

From there, the team’s strong defense that had previously shut out multiple teams during the season, shut out Ridge Point. They won the game 2-0 and Campos was chosen as the MVP with her two goals.

The team ran out onto the field hugging, ready to claim their state championship title.

“It didn’t hit me until later. Like it didn’t feel real. It just seemed like this fairy tale story that just became a reality,” Campos said.

Coach Hebert is now the new permanent Head Coach for girls soccer, and she was awarded Soccer Coach of the Year by TGCA. Hebert said she loved watching these girls come together as a team after so many obstacles.

“It feels pretty amazing, I can’t even put it into words,” Hebert said. “We really wanted to put a huge exclamation point on the end of a successful season, I couldn’t be prouder.”

Student section cheers after girls soccer wins their first state title since 2005. Photo Diya Roy

The team rallies and rejoices when they are crowned UIL’s Girls Soccer State Champions. Photo Diya Roy

I scavenged Twitter to find the most highly disputed Oscar awards and investigated both arguments as to why some nominees might’ve been snubbed or correctly lost.

Winner: Jamie Lee Curtis Possible snub: Angela Bassett

The argument for Bassett:

When they announced

Jamie Lee Curtis’ name for the Oscar, Angela Bassett sat in her seat with a stone cold face. She didn’t clap. She didn’t even move. The actress who played in movies such as “What’s Love Got to Do with it” and “Malcolm X,” had lost an Oscar for the second time in her career. Fans had a much more explosive reaction, claiming that Bassett was robbed of an overdue Oscar. If you compare each actress’ major awards for their roles, Angela Bassett’s wins at the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Movie Awards outnumber Curtis’ win at the Screen Actors Guild. It just seems like they gave the award to Curtis as more of a lifetime achievement, even though Bassett has put in her dues for just as long.

The argument for Curtis:

Jamie Lee Curtis deserved her Oscar and was as equally overdue as Bassett. The difference was that unlike Bassett, Curtis was a part of a Best Picture film while Bassett was a part of a Marvel movie. That is not a shot at Marvel movies or the superhero genre at all, but the historic opinion held by the Academy has been that Marvel movies aren’t “real cinema.” There have been Oscar nominations for Marvel movies in the past, however the only wins have belonged to “Black Panther” and “Black Panther Wakanda Forever,” in Costume Design, Best Original Score and Best Production design. However, for actors and actresses, nominations have been hard to come by. Instead of splitting hairs, fans should acknowledge that Curtis and Bassett had comparable performances and careers. But since Curtis was a part of the Best Picture winner and Bassett was a part of a Marvel movie that the Academy has never taken seriously, it makes sense that Curtis left with the award.

Winner: Brenden Fraser Possible snub: Austin Butler

The argument for Butler: Butler, previously known for his television roles, almost won an Oscar for his first leading role as Elvis. Everything was there for him to win. Like other Oscar winners before him, Butler method acted his role. He was so dedicated, he didn’t see his family for three years. He’s so Elvis that he speaks permanently like Elvis. Fans raved over Butler’s singing, dancing and shaking all about like he was possessed by a rockstar ghost. Alongside the recent passing of Lisa Marie Presely, it seemed everything was set up for Butler to win Best Actor and kick off his career with an Oscar at just 31.

The argument for Fraser: Fraser had a historic run in the nineties in movies such as the “The Mummy” and “George of the Jungle.” Then Fraser says back in 2003, he was sexually assaulted by Philip Berk, the former President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. That caused him to fall into a deep depression, and Fraser believes it became the reason why he stopped receiving roles. Finally, after making it to the other side of his personal issues, he ended up an Oscar winner. Fraser’s story is a compelling one and this year the academy rewarded all types of redemption stories. Hollywood veterans like Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan all ended up winning. So it made sense for Fraser to also complete his comeback.

Here are my rapid fire opinions on the biggest Oscar losers. These movies weren’t victim to Oscar snubs, that’d be an understatement. These movies get a whole different category because they spent the whole night clapping, and graciously losing everything to everyone all at once. So they’ve been crowned the biggest losers of the night.

The Banshees of Inisherin:

This movie history. Forever in Oscar history, Banshees of Inisherin will be known as the one of the biggest losers, as they earned nine nominations and not a single Oscar win. You can make the argument that they were snubbed for every award they were nominated for. Or just call it an unfortunate, fat loss. Each time the movie almost won something, miles away the country of Ireland shed a tear for Colin Farrell.

The Fablemans:

Steven Spielberg! Love that guy. He’s so good at making movies, he has two Oscars to his name. Spielberg was expected to produce greatness with his movie, “The Fablemans,” a passion project and a semi-autobiographical film about his own life as a young filmmaker. It won some awards at lesser known film associations and even got nominated for several categories at the Oscars, such as Best Director. But the Academy awarded him nothing. He won nothing. The movie won nothing. He probably would’ve gotten a lot more attention for winning nothing if it wasn’t for the unprecedented amount of losses “The Banshees of Inisherin” suffered.

TikTok is filled with super funsies life hacks, surprising information, and real-world advice. However, we can’t always tell if our FYP is pointing us in the right direction, especially when it comes to the right books. Countless hours have been wasted by pushing through books that were promised to be touched by King Midas himself. Here are some HONEST reviews so you can actually enjoy the hours you spend being a couch potato.

Six of Crows

Leigh Bardugo’s book immerses you into a universe based on Russia and Eastern Europe with more fantastical elements. The story follows six gang members who must pull off an impossible heist. Along the way, they fall out of love, back in love and find a family within each other. Six of Crows confined me to my chair as I sunk into the plot. It switches between the perspectives of each character, so you grow attached to each one. Readers will get frustrated with characters hiding their true feelings, and they’ll feel the heartbreak on the other side of it too.

The representation in this book series is amazing and healing. Inej, a South Asian main character in the book, is an incredibly skilled spy, beloved and respected by her crew. In a world where the media often portrays South Asian people as ugly, dirty and unwanted, Bardugo made Inej a fan favorite and incredibly inspiring. Six of Crows will never bore you. Even the most bland of people couldn’t resist kicking their legs and twirling their hair at its beauty.

The Song of Achilles

Telling the story of Patroclus and his great love, Achilles, Madeline Miller wrote an absolute masterpiece. Miller shows us another perspective of Achilles—his lovable and human side. You grow attached to him in the same way Patroclus does. These characters begin to feel like they belong to you, and you want nothing but the best for them, even though it’s not what’s in the

cards. The writing is elegant and detailed, and I felt like the scenes were playing out in my head with full clarity. This book gives you more heartbreak than anything in real-life could. Even months after reading it, the pain still feels new and sharp. The Song of Achilles will have you believing in love but wishing you hadn’t opened yourself up to it.

story

Raksha Jayakumar

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

One of BookTok’s favorite authors, Taylor Jenkins Reid, deserves everything she could ever ask for after gracing the entire world with this mind-boggling story. Evelyn Hugo is a revered actress from the 50s and 60s who gets married several times. She’s a mastermind who uses her relationships with those rolling in fame to safeguard her secrets. Reid used her super duper magical powers to transport me into “The Lucky One” by Taylor Swift. I picked it up thinking it would be a cutesy cliché little romance about how a woman kisses many frogs until she finds her prince. Plot twist! She does not in fact choose a prince, and the story is all the better for it. This book is the furthest thing from cliché. Reading books by Taylor Jenkins Reid makes me forget that the people on the pages were never real. I grew old with Evelyn, all of her heartbreaks were mine and her successes made me cheer with joy. This book will trap you inside Evelyn’s paparazzi-lit world, and you won’t ever want to leave.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

This series by Jenny Han follows Belly Conklin, a seemingly sweet teenage girl. She spends her summers vacationing at Cousins Beach with her family and another, including Conrad and Jeremiah. Belly finds herself caught in a love triangle between them like all the other iconic 2000s girlies. But just like Elena Gilbert, Belly turns out to be an incredibly annoying main character who you just can’t bring yourself to root for. She makes countless stupid decisions.

Her sad attempts to manifest a dreamy romance with Conrad burn multiple hearts. Belly is so caught up in her pining that she

Verity

forgets how to be a decent person. Only a handful of people can push themselves through the pain it takes to tolerate her. Poor little Belly. She made everything about her.

Whenever she’s forced to face the harsh reality that the world did not in fact revolve around her, she makes a pouty face. The book was a quick and easy read, perfect for a beach day. However, Belly will leave you feeling like you lost a couple of brain cells and all of your communication skills. (The TV series is GOATED though and Belly actually has a personality in it, so you should watch that instead!)

Unfortunately, we cannot have BookTok without Miss Colleen Hoover. Not only is she a problematic author who romanticizes abuse and makes coloring pages out of it, but her books are full of lost potential. The books in theory are nice, but the execution is quite head-scratching. This story specifically follows Lowen Ashleigh. She’s hired by Jeremy Crawford to be a ghost-writer after his wife Verity falls into a coma and can’t finish her book series. Lowen stays at the Crawfords’ mansion to study Verity’s writing style where she discovers a secret manuscript Verity wrote confessing all of her crimes.

The book certainly had a grasp on me, but it was a grasp of annoyance. The characters would use their common sense so sparingly. Lowen, if you know there is a murderer living upstairs, what money is worth staying in that house? Any sane person would leave and enter witness protection, not stay to seduce her husband. The entire book felt like a Riverdale episode if the writers put in a wee bit more effort. The only redeemable part of the book that made it three stars was the plot twist at the end. I’m not quite sure who gave CoHo pencil privileges, but I petition that these privileges be revoked! The book gave me a good chuckle at times, but Verity is the perfect example of how sometimes the TikTok algorithm utterly fails.

PlainPlainstatestate

Local rock band plans for future together

Roslyn Dobbins

Matthew Revilla, 20, felt sick to his stomach as he stepped onto the raised platform at the Anchor Bar & Grill. This was the band’s first performance. His red and white guitar was slung over his shoulder, resting on top of his watermelon print button down.

Senior Katherine Gilberti stood to his left in her lemon shirt with her wood bass guitar. Senior Nathan Moudy sat in the

corner, behind his bright orange Pearl drum set.

The venue was small, but that didn’t matter. The colors surrounding them were as bright as their future. This was the beginning of Plain State of Mind.

At first, it was just Nathan and Matt, not even a band yet. It was two guys messing around, learning songs together. They had tried to officially get together

as a band several times with other people, but each time it fell through. They didn’t give up on their shared dream and decided to give it one more shot.

“This time something clicked, and we really just knew that we wanted to make something come out of it,” Matt said.

Nathan put out an ad on Instagram, looking for anyone interested in joining them. Katherine was the only person

who responded. Though she had barely touched the bass before, she was ready to

Before they could call themselves a real band, they needed a name. After every practice together they would spend 30 minutes racking their brains for a name. They would look around the room in search of stand-out names.

Pink Duct Tape. Cricket Poster. Nothing seemed to work.

“We were just like, ‘Dude we just got plain states of mind right now,’” Nathan said. “So that’s really how it started, just our brains were empty.” After a visit to the Anchor, Matt made a connection there who encouraged them to come out and perform. The band was nervous, but after some time they had a set list prepared and finally

The Anchor was a smaller venue, but it was a start. The band set up in the corner of the noisy room, on a small raised platform laid with fake grass. Both Nathan and Matt had experience performing before, but for Matt, playing on a stage singled out was entirely different. Katherine and Nathan were both filled with that good kind of nervous excitement, but Matt was scared. It was up to him to sing the cover songs they had prepared.

Matt pushed through the nerves as they began their first song. Starting was the hard part. As they continued to play, everything came together and settled down.

Learning covers was a good place to start for the band, but they all knew that wasn’t the dream. They wanted to create their own songs. They wanted to release their own album and maybe even go on tour over the summer.

“That’s a lofty goal but we’re going to try to work on some more new music, because we don’t want to be a cover band,” Katherine said. “We want to have enough music where we can play a show with mostly our original songs.”

Matt was the only one who had worked on writing songs before, so naturally he took the lead in the process. He already had a few songs written from his past work with basic riffs that he could

modify to fit his current group of people. Once he had a rough draft, the rest of the band came in to add their own spin to it, changing lyrics or the instrumental parts.

That’s how their first EP was created. They had the songs written - now they had to produce them.

Walking into the recording studio felt surreal. It was small, with everyone crammed in, but it felt exciting nonetheless. The process was different than they were used to. Recording their songs wasn’t the same as just playing the song together. They had to record their parts separately, keeping in time with a metronome.

The band was unfamiliar playing with a metronome, and had turned it off after a

when they practice,” Josh said.

Getting everyone together to practice wasn’t always easy, but when they could it was always fun. Whether it was practicing a new song or having an impromptu karaoke night, the band enjoyed their time together, sometimes even getting the occasional noise complaint.

Nathan was always brimming with infectious energy, while Katherine was the glue that kept the band together and steady. Matt had the musical knowledge that helped him build songs, and Josh had his years of experience with music. When they got together, it worked.

Though they all had slightly different music tastes and styles, the band was built on their collective love of rock music. Matt can’t say exactly what their final sound will be like, but he knows he’s excited to hear it.

“I feel like already I’m kind of starting to get an idea of how everything’s going to come together,” Matt said. “With Josh, you can hear a lot of his music tastes in the way that he solos, very technical and fast. He just has this kind of way of just making it flow. I bring really fat chords and power chords with like these driving riffs. Nathan, you can hear a lot of the music that he likes in the way he plays his drums and Katherine, as time goes on, she opens up more and more and she’s finally started kind of trying to take some creative liberties.”

few attempts, preferring to follow the beat of Nathan’s drums. Not only were they recording their songs for the first time, but they were doing it with someone new.

Josh Leeming, 20, had been playing guitar for 15 years of his life and reached out to the band through the Band Mix website. The band gladly accepted him, and went into the recording studio only a week later.

Josh said that playing with the band has been a blast, despite balancing practice with attending University of Texas at Arlington.

“I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a challenge to keep up with my school commitments and the band, but it’s been a lot of fun because they’re really efficient

The band is slowly growing, and even scored a gig at The 156 Ice House, a much bigger venue. Matt knows that any change in location comes with a certain amount of anxiety, but he also knows the more they play the better they will get.

The band is committed to moving forward with their music together. Though they all have various plans for their future, they aren’t ready to let their dream go.

“You just kind of get lucky with who you run into,” Nathan said.

“ This time something clicked, and we really just knew that we wanted to make something come out of it,

-Matthew Revilla

Boombahs thingswelike Library displays

Test kitchen

A few weeks ago, a new test kitchen opened in the commons! The new line offers specialty food that is alternated every week, and the food is made right in front of us. Offering more variety in the lunch food, the new kitchen is a great addition.

Fact of the day

As part of the school’s celebration of months dedicated to different people groups, the announcements usually feature a fun fact about the group being honored. The facts were a good way to celebrate Black History Month and Women’s History Month.

A cute way that the library celebrates different months is setting up book displays that correspond to each month. Seeing a compilation of books with minority protagonists during history months may be what it takes to get someone to pick up a book and see through someone else’s eyes.

Running from religion

column Lex Paull

“If you don’t convert to God, you’ll be sent to hell after you die.”

Religion had never played a big role in my life until I was told this at age 11. From my knowledge of horror movies and those insane religious billboards you see on the highway, hell was a place filled with eternal suffering and torture. I remembered the words swimming through my mind.

Convert. God. Die. Hell.

It was bad enough to start questioning my sexuality in middle school, but it’s even worse considering that I lived in the South. I constantly heard stories from others about kids my age being kicked out of their houses after coming out to their parents. Anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes took over on the news. Fearing for my life and what my friends and family would think, I tried to push my feelings away.

I was young and impressionable, and believed everything anyone told me. I knew that many saw homosexuality as a sin, and I didn’t want to go to hell. Thus began my rocky relationship with God.

I started with the Bible. I sat down and forced myself to read as many pages as I could until the words blurred on the pages. I finally quit after a pointless hour of reading. I could tell my heart wasn’t in it.

But I didn’t want to give up. I begged

an old friend to take me to church with him. Forcing myself into the crowded room with gospel music playing in the background for an hour didn’t seem to be my thing.

I kept going though. For a year after, I forced myself to pray nightly. I had

happen to me if I didn’t follow God. I was forced to hide who I really was just so I could make others happy.

So I reverted to agnosticism, much to the confusion of certain people. I was told the same speech over and over again. I was sinning and I was risking an afterlife more painful than death. Sadly, I still hear this now.

My main issue is when people cherrypick their religion so they can have a reason to be hateful of something they don’t understand. One of the main points of Christianity is to “love thy neighbor as thyself,” according to Matthew 22:37-39.

But when I came out to a family member as queer, the first thing they told me was that it was just a phase and that I’ll settle down with a man one day. That it’s the way God wants it to be.

I’m sick of being told I just haven’t found the right man, or that I’ll go to hell because of the way that I live my life. I’m tired of the side-eyes I’m given when I talk about my celebrity crushes or the silence that follows when I out myself to someone. And now I find it difficult to find comfort in any religion where its followers deem me a sinner or ungodly because of who I am.

assumed that all of that praying would somehow magically make me straight, but my feelings stayed the same. All it did was make me more ashamed of myself for the way that I felt.

It took me too long to realize that the only reason I turned to religion in the first place was because I was ordered to. I was told to fear hell and what would

But despite this, times are changing, and I see places of worship becoming more open and diverse. I have religious friends, and they have always been open to who I am, even if others aren’t. There will always be those who want to shield the world from my existence, but I know that instead of focusing on the life that they want me to live, I should instead follow my own path.

Heys thingswedon’tlike

Leash your dogs

There’s a time and place for everything. Class is not the time or place to take off your shoes. No one is interested in seeing your feet or your crusty socks. Also, there’s no way walking on the school floor with your bare feet is sanitary.

Speeding in the parking lot

People speeding in the school parking lot make walking to and from school each day a gamble. There’s no way to anticipate someone’s convertible speeding towards you at 40 mph when you’re there. To stay safe, let’s drive slower in the parking lot.

Summer spiral

Ana Maria Myers-Olvera

Hundreds of people cram into the small, humid Granada Theater in central Dallas after standing outside in the blazing Texas heat for hours on end. I’m next to all the other teenage girls packed together in the standing-room-only theater so tight that I can barely breathe.

This is something that becomes especially difficult when you can’t even see over most people’s shoulders. Their eyes scan every nook and balcony in the venue hoping to catch a glimpse of the band they’ve waited months to see.

Every small pause in the intermission music makes the crowd scream the band’s name, mistaking it for the start of the concert. Despite the suffocating environment, the freeing feeling washes over me the second the lights dim and the unintelligible screams of hundreds erupt.

When The Wrecks finally take the stage, they are all I think about for the next three hours.

This concert ended up being the best one in my life. But I barely even thought about going less than 24 hours before. I hardly knew the band and not even a handful of songs. But sitting in that empty parking lot, the impulsivity of summer floated throughout the car. I decided to buy the tickets. Only $27 for a band I didn’t even know existed six months ago.

Just days before, I was on what felt like a never-ending family vacation to New York. Our trip started in Syracuse and ended in New York City. My family

couldn’t stop stepping on each other’s toes. At every turn there was a new problem. Another argument. I needed an escape. I needed an out when I got back home. This trip was the final tipping point in the never ending spiral that was that summer.

At the exact same time, my best

Stop smooching in the hallways

Life isn’t a Disney Channel Original Movie. Couples here need to realize that they are not Troy and Gabriella, and nobody is trying to see their PDA at school. School is difficult enough without having to pass the same couple on your way to AP Bio every day and watch them caress each other’s faces and take up space in the hallway.

announced their tour months ago. But she was leaving to go to Portugal for a month. She begged her family to move the trip so we could go, but they wouldn’t budge. So I went in her place++.

That’s how I ended up with the tickets. In a blisteringly hot parking lot and with my car’s broken ac in the middle of July.

To me, concerts are one of the few places where everyone can come together in celebration of one artist. A few hours where nothing matters except the music.

Belting every song I know at the top of my lungs. Ignoring the thought of waking up for school tomorrow. It all feels so exhilarating. The joy I feel from artists interacting with the crowd. The members of the band telling mini-stories throughout the set to introduce the next song.

friend Lili was moving to Arkansas. We spent almost every day we could with each other for all 18 years of my life. No matter what was going on we always had each other.

Although the five hours to Fayetteville, Arkansas isn’t that far, it felt overwhelming. Our time togetherThe times we could hang out whenever we wanted was coming to a close.

Lili had been talking about going to The Wrecks concert since they

It lets me ignore my never ending list of responsibilities for as long as they keep singing — It all makes me forget any issue I had before entering the venue. Including my best friend moving a treacherously, untravelable five hours away, and my occasionally irritating family, whom I love. For once, my mind is finally able to go quiet and not race with a million thoughts for those few hours of the day.

The next morning I’m trying to recover from the night before. My voice is scratchy and hoarse from screaming all night. I’m trudging my way through the day after only getting five hours of sleep that night. No matter how terrible I feel the next day it’s always worth it. Looking forward to the next concert makes it worth every second of suffering.

Sharp blades and Band-Aids

story

Roslyn Dobbins

Be advised that the content in this story contains self-harm and suicide, and may be triggering to some readers.

My mom cried when she saw the scars littering my arms and stomach for the first time. She knew something was wrong. I couldn’t even look her in the eye as I showed her what I had done to myself. All I could feel was the shame.

How could I explain that the hours after midnight I spent with a razor blade in hand, were the only times I felt any kind of happiness.

me. I understood how easy it was to give up on yourself. When you see someone begin to sink like that, you feel more than helpless.

It was then I realized I was feeling what those around me had felt.

• • •

When everything peaked in middle school, my friends noticed. Between the self-deprecating comments and the drops of blood I left on my sleeves, it was obvious. My friends tip-lined me more than once, and each time I would be sent down I felt angry and betrayed.

I was quick to reassure the counselor and my parents that evening when they got the call from the school.

first one I saw wasn’t the right one for me, and it took me some time to realize that because I thought it wouldn’t matter which therapist I saw. I wish I’d known all these things before, so I’m saying them now in hopes that it helps someone reading this.

Healing would’ve been easier if I had a single moment in my life I could point to that made me feel this way. It’s easier for me to accept the things that happen, when I know what caused it. Life is rarely that simple though. I still have no idea why it all happened, even after years of poring over my past.

Though I don’t know why everything imploded, I guess I learned things from it.

I learned how easy it is to give up on yourself. When you are sitting on

How could I explain the sickness in my head that I had fallen in love with.

How could I explain the calmness I felt when I had blood dripping down my arms. Even now I struggle to put into words the pride I felt at the awful things I was doing. I felt like I was doing the right thing. How do you explain that to anyone?

That in my twisted middle school mind, what I was doing made sense. That to me, there was no way out of this alive.

Hurting myself and wanting to end everything may seem like two different things, but to me they go hand-in-hand. One thought does not come without the other.

I could feel myself divide, in a way. I knew what I was doing was wrong, yet I loved it. It felt so good letting myself fade away. It was just so easy to let go.

Why couldn’t everyone around me just let me die? • • •

It’s a question I wasn’t able to answer until more recently. For the first time a friend opened up to me about similar feelings, and I wish I could explain the frantic fear I felt then.

The idea of losing my friend wrecked

“I’m okay.”

“There’s nothing wrong.”

“I’m just tired.”

I drafted one lie after another to draw them away from the real issue. This became a pattern. My friends would tipline me, I would pacify the counselor, and then my parents. But after a while they didn’t believe me anymore.

I couldn’t hide it any longer, and my parents found me a therapist to address my issues. The problem with being forced into therapy was that I was still convinced I didn’t need any help. I so badly wanted to do this all on my own, but I’m telling you right now, it can’t be done. Healing requires help. It also requires patience.

No one ever talks about this, but it can take time to find the right therapist. The

your dirty bathroom floor sobbing and gasping for air because you feel like you are a burden to everyone around you, all you want to do is give in.

I also learned the importance of not giving up. I couldn’t realize how awful it is to watch someone do that to themselves, until I was in that situation.

I’m doing better than I have in years. I’ve found that journaling helped me to really address how I feel, and allowed me to have a healthy outlet for my problems. I am able to make myself happy, instead of looking for happiness through other people.

I didn’t realize until I started healing the importance of enjoying all the small moments that make up our lives. The moments I get to sit with my cat, or laugh with my friends, or eat a piece of strawberry cake. They may seem small, but when I started letting myself be happy about small things, living starts to feel a whole lot easier.

“ Healing would’ve been easier if I had a single moment in my life I could point to that made me feel this way.

The idea of losing my friend wrecked me. I understood how easy it was to give up on yourself.

Remarks

Do you believe there is a God?

Why or why not?

Rachel Noble (11)

Yes, I believe in God. And why, is because I have seen Him move in my life and I have seen Him move in other people’s lives. But I believe He is a good God and that He loves us.

I don’t believe there is a God… there are tiny things here and there. Why would He let horrible things happen, like WW2? Just horrible things happen. Why would He let His creation go through that pain?

I genuinely don’t know. There are some things that can or cannot be explained by acts of God. I intend to figure out when I get there.

LISD can be more accomodating to religious practices

staff editorial

It can be easy to feel out of place in North Texas for members of nonChristian faiths. According to the Pew Research Center, Christians make up 78% of the Dallas metroplex, with 18% considering themselves non-religious, and 4% members of other faiths, such as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

The majority of students in the district identify as Christian, so school can sometimes make non-Christians feel out of place. Failing to consider minority religions’ holidays makes these students feel like their religion is not important.

Muslim students are usually expected to keep up their academic performance during Ramadan, which includes a month of fasting. Because Muslim students are not allowed to eat or drink for the majority of the day, they’ll have less energy for school than everyone else. But they are still expected to give their all in class.

It isn’t reasonable or necessary to cancel school for the month of Ramadan, but teachers can be understanding to their Muslim students. Students should

talk to their teachers and let them know when they need leniency. This can be as simple as being more considerate with due dates or offering compassion when a student falls asleep in class — fasting takes a toll mentally and physically, and kids can’t always fully show up when they’re doing it.

A 2003 Texas law requires schools to offer students a moment of silence every day to pray or reflect. During the month of Ramadan, Muslim students pray five times a day in a process called Salah. But the 60 seconds of silence offered every morning aren’t enough to accommodate Muslim students. The school day obstructs this prayer time that is vital to Muslim religious practices. At least two prayers are missed during the span of the school day.

In Islam, it’s forbidden to walk in front of someone praying, so Muslims often find a wall or window to face while they pray for at least five to ten minutes. Students should also be given a separate space at school to pray throughout the day that is more comfortable than a classroom environment.

The LISD academic calendar doesn’t

give off for religious holidays that aren’t Christian. For example, Yom Kippur is the most important holiday in the Jewish faith. A time to atone for sins, it requires a day to forego food, bathing and electronics. However, the calendar doesn’t give students a day off. In a school where most assignments require electronics and lunch is an important break in the eighthour workday, a school environment is not ideal for Jewish kids. The district has a policy in place to not count absences on religious holy days against students’ attendance, however students still get behind in classes.

Just one day off for Yom Kippur by replacing a bad weather day would be a great start. For example, the bad weather day after Easter Sunday could be used in place for Yom Kippur in September. The district can make all students feel included by aligning the academic calendar with students’ religious calendars.

School should be a place where we are given the proper atmosphere and opportunities to learn. By being understanding, the district can cultivate a more inclusive learning environment for every student.

I don’t necessarily, but I believe there is a possibility of a God. I am an agnostic.

Elian Rangel (11)

Travis Olson (12)

Sanjay Bharathi (12)

compiled

Muna Nnamani photos Colby Murray

Spring it on!

Freshman Peyton Finn leaps alongside her fellow dancers.

design Alex Thornfelt photos Ana Myers-Olvera

Junior Violet Snyder shines amidst her fellow performers.

Junior Sami Valor takes the stage at the Marquette Spring Show.